Responsibilities

This post is located in the INC Secretariat at the Nairobi duty station. Under the direct supervision of the Finance and Budget Officer, the Senior Finance and Budget Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Budget

• Acts as Certifying Officer for the INC Secretariat.
• Undertakes reviews, analyses and preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions.
• Reviews, analyses and assists in the finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements, including programmatic aspects; ensures compliance with the medium-term plan and other legislative mandates.
• Provides support to managers with respect to the elaboration of resource requirements and assist in the preparation and submission of budget proposals and allocations for INC Secretariat.
• Undertakes research and provides support to higher level Finance & Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies.
• Provides input into the preparation of allotments, including redeployment of funds when necessary, ensuring appropriate expenditures.
• Monitors budget implementation/expenditures and recommends reallocation of funds as necessary.
• Reviews requisitions for goods and services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b) availability of funds.
• Monitors extra-budgetary resources, including review of agreements and cost plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and rules and established policies and procedures.
• Assists in the preparation of budget performance submissions as well as periodic and ad-hoc reports including monthly budget dashboard reports to senior management, Programme Performance Reports (PPR) to UNEP Senior Management as well as to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR).
• Assists in finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Monitors integrity of various financial databases.
• Verifies accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.

Treasury

• Reviews incoming payment instructions with regard to banking details and sources of funds.
• Prepares payments for final disbursement by Cashier.
• Dispatches payment instructions and cheques to banks.
• Creates receipts and deposits for all incoming funds.
• Notifies payees of status of payments.
• Assists staff members, Fund Management Officers and donors regarding queries on payment and deposit-related issues.
• Identifies and annotates bank account movements. Monitors bank balances worldwide.
• Assists Cashier in cash management and investment issues, including cash flow forecasts.
• Liaises with banks worldwide regarding outstanding items and payment instructions.
• Investigates complaints on non-receipts.
• Monitors cheque stock and orders new stock as required.
• Reviews inter and intra-unit processes with aim to optimise workflow and customer orientation.
• Monitors/reviews methods used to remit payments.
• Assist in preparation of periodical reports: cash flow, contributions, etc.
• Follows-up on audit recommendations.
• Follows-up on fraud cases.
• Assists cashier in the daily operation of the Cashier’s Unit responsible for the transmittal of payments worldwide.
• Files and archives as required.

General

• Keeps up to date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme budgets, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Drafts or prepares correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters.
• Provides guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility.
• Develop and maintain Budget related Business Intelligence (BI) Web Reports to be shared and utilized by all Programme and Fund Management Officers across UNEP.
• Manage approved staffing table for the INC Secretariat.
• Prepare monthly post incumbency reports and update the positions’ cost distribution in Umoja (UN SAP based ERP system) Organization Management module to ensure correct coding blocks are charged.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Requirements

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of, and ability to apply financial rules, regulations and procedures in the UN environment. Knowledge, skills and ability to extract, interpret, analyse and format data across the full range of finance and budget functions, including programme development and database management, claims and treasury operations. Ability to identify and resolve data discrepancies and operational problems. Ability to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of
• decision-making. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments. Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

• High school diploma or completion of secondary school is required.

Job – Specific Qualification

• Supplementary courses/ training in finance, administration, project management or related field is required.
• A recognized accountancy qualification (e.g. Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in administration, budgetary and financial operations, procedures and practices is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced by two (2) years for candidates who possess a first level university degree.
• Experience working with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, such as Umoja, in finance and budget modules is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with a Business Intelligence (BI) reporting tool is required.
• Experience with budget management is desirable.
• One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.